00:00Panama President Jose Raul Mulino says that his country maintains a positive relationship with China
00:06despite being caught up in a dispute between the Asian superpower and the US.
00:11Not only that, he also defends Panama's takeover of port contracts held by Hong Kong's CK Hutchison.
00:18He spoke at a regular press conference after receiving what he called a high-level message from China's government
00:25acknowledging that a dispute over the port contracts will be heard by international arbitration courts
00:31and did not constitute an issue between the Panamanian and Chinese governments.
00:36The message received through China's ambassador in Panama marked a friendly approach
00:41even as he noted an ongoing search of detentions and inspections of Panama-flagged ships in China.
00:49The Panama Canal handles 5% of global maritime trade,
00:53making control of its entrance ports a flashpoint for geopolitical tension between Washington and Beijing.
01:00CK Hutchison, through local unit Panama Ports Company,
01:04lost the port concessions it had held for nearly three decades
01:07after a Panama Supreme Court decision in January
01:10that was widely seen as related to US pressure to limit Chinese influence over the strategic waterway.
01:16Panama then handed temporary operations to mass APM terminals and MSC's Teal Panama
01:24as Panama Ports Company said it would fight the move in international arbitration
01:29and accuse Panama's government of a wrongful takeover.
01:33Molino said Panama did not expropriate the ports but took them over
01:37because they were left without a contract.
01:40Nevertheless, he raised concerns about the unusually high numbers of Panama-flagged ships
01:46being detained in China, an issue that prompted the US and allies
01:50to voice support for Panama's sovereignty in a joint statement this week.
01:55China called the statement misleading and accused the US of politicising the ports.
02:01However, Molino said that he has not decided on further steps on the matter.
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